epiphany...

[bloke]

...and only because I'm dumb.
This should have occurred to me decades ago...

>> The tubas that I REALLY like (and with which I surround myself) are those that require little more effort to play than the effort required to speak.

The LESS I'm aware of the tuba (sure and the mouthpiece) the MORE I like it.

[tubanh84]

I think that's the most reasonable way to evaluate a tuba I have heard in a long time.

I mean the following as an additional thought, not an argument or dismissal:

Not being a paid performer these days, I have enjoyed being able to play tubas for other reasons, even if they are harder to play in some respects - Tubas that (to me) have artistic or historical significance (in my eyes, because that is NOT an objective determination). Or just because I've never played that type of horn before and it's fun to try it out.

I happen to have found a horn that scratches all three - historical, artistic, and easy to play. I also have a horn that's historical and very hard to play. I don't play it that often as a result. And a horn that doesn't have any special historical or artistic merit that helps me sound how I want, even if it has its limitations.

I also enjoy playing horns that I have. Because I have them, and therefore I can play them, rather than pining after horns I don't have and can't reasonably get in my possession any time soon. Which seems overly simplistic, buts it's a level of contentedness that took me a long time to achieve.

[iiipopes]

Indeed. The entire reason for my Bessophone with its customized details, including the mouthpiece, rim, and modified spacer. Thanks.

[Ace]

Good post, Joe. The horns I have owned that, to me, match your comments are MW 2145 and Conn 52J. I really liked those tubas because of the ease of playing them.

Ace

[Ace]

Good post, Joe. The horns I have owned that, to me, match your comments are MW 2145 and Conn 52J. I really liked those tubas because of the ease of playing them.

Ace

[LeMark]

My go-to tuba lately has been the 4/4 amati I picked up for next to nothing last November. It is just so easy to hold and play.

Well it would be if I wasn't so darn tall. It's really too short for me, but it feels so good to play, I don't notice my posture sucks

It helps that I played one just like this in college and for a few years after, so it feels like home. (of course after being a cerveny guy for 32 years, that applies to most cerveny products)

[Ace]

Mark, I am always confused when I see an Amati-badge tuba with rotary valves. I have become accustomed to the Cerveny badge on rotary horns made by the Amati Corp. The Cerveny horns I think are made in a little town east of Prague, and the Amati piston horns made near the German/Czech border. Can you clarify? Thanks.

Ace

[iiipopes]

My go-to tuba lately has been the 4/4 amati I picked up for next to nothing last November. It is just so easy to hold and play.

Well it would be if I wasn't so darn tall. It's really too short for me, but it feels so good to play, I don't notice my posture sucks

It helps that I played one just like this in college and for a few years after, so it feels like home. (of course after being a cerveny guy for 32 years, that applies to most cerveny products)

Reposition the lead pipe and receiver farther up the bell stack? That's what I did on my Bessophone, including angling the receiver to my slight overbite to make the mouthpiece more comfortable and take away the urge to fidget from it being uncomfortable previously.

[Three Valves]

Ease of play is huge!!

I read that “taming the piggy” post and just didn’t get it.

I do not find unnecessary work, fun.

[LeMark]

Mark, I am always confused when I see an Amati-badge tuba with rotary valves. I have become accustomed to the Cerveny badge on rotary horns made by the Amati Corp. The Cerveny horns I think are made in a little town east of Prague, and the Amati piston horns made near the German/Czech border. Can you clarify? Thanks.

Ace

From what I understand Cerveny and Amati rotary horns were made in the same factory, with the Horns marked amati having less Nickel silver trim, and those were also the horns that were rebadged as stencils (like custom music sanders)
Cerveny tubas were the same thing, with Nickel silver outer slides

[LeMark]

My go-to tuba lately has been the 4/4 amati I picked up for next to nothing last November. It is just so easy to hold and play.

Well it would be if I wasn't so darn tall. It's really too short for me, but it feels so good to play, I don't notice my posture sucks

It helps that I played one just like this in college and for a few years after, so it feels like home. (of course after being a cerveny guy for 32 years, that applies to most cerveny products)

Reposition the lead pipe and receiver farther up the bell stack? That's what I did on my Bessophone, including angling the receiver to my slight overbite to make the mouthpiece more comfortable and take away the urge to fidget from it being uncomfortable previously.

I would. but the leadpipe on this one is already pretty short without many bends to it. Short of giving the leadpipr a complete makover and having it approach the valve section at the 45 degree angle, there isn't room to raise it higher on the bell without making it not wrap around the bell when it reaches my face.

I think I need to find a way to keep a pad or stand with me when I play it

[HoltonMammoth]

My go-to tuba lately has been the 4/4 amati I picked up for next to nothing last November. It is just so easy to hold and play.

Well it would be if I wasn't so darn tall. It's really too short for me, but it feels so good to play, I don't notice my posture sucks

It helps that I played one just like this in college and for a few years after, so it feels like home. (of course after being a cerveny guy for 32 years, that applies to most cerveny products)

I've seen some people attach a chunk of firm foam to the bottom of a horn for some extra height.

[humBell]

Subject made me think of a certain Sondheim song...

Just as glad that has nothing to do with this.

Yeah, i probably notice going uphill more than downhill, namely playing a tuba that is harder to get the sound you want out of than going down hill to an easier tuba. I guess ' cause i'm still working on my sound and blending with others even with an easy tuba, i just notice my standards tend to be lower on the hard tuba.

And there have been a few times where i play a few notes on a really good tuba and am blown away. And then yeah, it feels much more like playing the music rather than the tuba.

Sorry, i'm rambling, aren't i...

[LeMark]

Subject made me think of a certain Sondheim song...

Just as glad that has nothing to do with this.

I understand that reference!

[Ace]

Mark, I am always confused when I see an Amati-badge tuba with rotary valves. I have become accustomed to the Cerveny badge on rotary horns made by the Amati Corp. The Cerveny horns I think are made in a little town east of Prague, and the Amati piston horns made near the German/Czech border. Can you clarify? Thanks.

Ace

From what I understand Cerveny and Amati rotary horns were made in the same factory, with the Horns marked amati having less Nickel silver trim, and those were also the horns that were rebadged as stencils (like custom music sanders)
Cerveny tubas were the same thing, with Nickel silver outer slides

It looks like Amati piston horns are built in one factory, and Cerveny and Amati rotary horns in another factory'
http://www.vfcerveny.cz/en/company/history

Ace

[LeMark]

yes, you can tell by quality that the amati piston stuff is not the same factory. Not high quality at all

[bloke]

A long-time eBay seller - who is based in Germany, and advertises on the USA eBay site - has offered quite a few rotary Amati instruments on his page, over the years.

Two decades ago or more, I bought an F-length 4-rotor bass trombone from him, which was engraved “Amati“.
It’s sort of reminded me of a ski boat, whereas the happiest day of a ski boat owner’s life is the day that he gets his ski boat sold.

Mark, I am always confused when I see an Amati-badge tuba with rotary valves. I have become accustomed to the Cerveny badge on rotary horns made by the Amati Corp. The Cerveny horns I think are made in a little town east of Prague, and the Amati piston horns made near the German/Czech border. Can you clarify? Thanks.

Ace

[jtm]

Besides plain mechanical problems, what makes a tuba hard to play? Or what makes it easy?

...
From what I understand Cerveny and Amati rotary horns were made in the same factory, with the Horns marked amati having less Nickel silver trim, and those were also the horns that were rebadged as stencils (like custom music sanders)

This is getting off topic, but my tuba says "Scherzer inh. Sander" (not Sanders), but also made in West Germany. I've no idea who really made it, or when. Was Sander/Sanders one of those names put on various tuba from multiple sources?

[LeMark]

Yes sander is a completely different company, and custom music probably chose the name Sanders to try to give their stencils a German identity.

[Worth]

Double post in error